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National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

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Your Environment. Your Health.

Publication Detail

Title: Fine Particle Exposure and Clinical Aggravation in Neurodegenerative Diseases in New York State.

Authors: Nunez, Yanelli; Boehme, Amelia K; Weisskopf, Marc G; Re, Diane B; Navas-Acien, Ana; van Donkelaar, Aaron; Martin, Randall V; Kioumourtzoglou, Marianthi-Anna

Published In Environ Health Perspect, (2021 Feb)

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Adult-onset neurodegenerative diseases affect millions and negatively impact health care systems worldwide. Evidence suggests that air pollution may contribute to aggravation of neurodegeneration, but studies have been limited. OBJECTIVE: We examined the potential association between long-term exposure to particulate matter in aerodynamic diameter [fine particulate matter ()] and disease aggravation in Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's (PD) diseases and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), using first hospitalization as a surrogate of clinical aggravation. METHODS: We used data from the New York Department of Health Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS 2000-2014) to construct annual county counts of first hospitalizations with a diagnosis of AD, PD, or ALS (total, urbanicity-, sex-, and age-stratified). We used annual concentrations estimated by a prediction model at a resolution, which we aggregated to population-weighted county averages to assign exposure to cases based on county of residence. We used outcome-specific mixed quasi-Poisson models with county-specific random intercepts to estimate rate ratios (RRs) for a 1-y exposure. We allowed for nonlinear exposure-outcome relationships using penalized splines and accounted for potential confounders. RESULTS: We found a positive nonlinear association that plateaued above (, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.14 for a increase from 8.1 to ). We also found a linear positive association (, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.09 per increase), and suggestive evidence of an association with AD. We found effect modification by age for PD and ALS with a stronger positive association in patients of age but found insufficient evidence of effect modification by sex or urbanization level for any of the outcomes. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that annual increase in county-level concentrations may contribute to clinical aggravation of PD and ALS. Importantly, the average annual concentration in our study was , below the current American national standards, suggesting the standards may not adequately protect the aging population. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP7425.

PubMed ID: 33555200 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: Adult; Aged; Air Pollutants*/adverse effects; Air Pollution*/adverse effects; Environmental Exposure; Hospitalization; Humans; Neurodegenerative Diseases*/chemically induced; Neurodegenerative Diseases*/epidemiology; New York/epidemiology; Particulate Matter/adverse effects

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